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<CENTER><B>CHAPTER 5.&nbsp; THE SIMPLE PAST</B></CENTER></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE><BR>
<BR>

<!--page 37-->
<A NAME="1"></A>
<CENTER><B>1. Uses of the simple past</B></CENTER><BR>
The uses of the Simple Past are somewhat similar to the uses of the
Simple Present, except that past states or actions are expressed. In
the examples given below, the verbs in the Simple Past are underlined.
<BR>
<BR>
For instance, the Simple Past can be used to express actions which
occurred at regular intervals in the past.
<BR>
e.g. Last year I <U>drove</U> to Yarmouth once a week.
<BR>
<BR>
In addition, the Simple Past is used to describe situations which
existed for a period of time in the past.
<BR>
e.g. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs <U>inhabited</U> the earth.<BR>
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; George Washington <U>was</U> the first president of the United States.<BR>
<BR>
The Simple Past is also used to express non-continuous actions which
occurred at a definite time in the past.
<BR>
e.g. Columbus <U>reached</U> America in 1492.<BR>
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; I <U>graduated</U> from school last year.<P>
&nbsp;<BR>

<A NAME="2"></A>
<CENTER><B>2. Formation of the simple past</B></CENTER><BR>

<A NAME="2a"></A>
<B>a. The verb To Be</B><BR>
The Simple Past of the verb <B>to be</B> is conjugated as follows:<BR>
<BR>
<CENTER><TABLE>
<TR><TD>I was</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>you were</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>he was</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>she was</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>it was</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>we were</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>they were</TD></TR>
</TABLE></CENTER>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#1">Exercise 1</A>.
<BR>
<BR>

<A NAME="2a1"></A>
<B>i. Questions and negative statements</B><BR>
The Simple Present and Simple Past
of the verb <B>to be</B> do not use auxiliaries to form questions and negative
statements. Instead, the verb itself is used.
<BR>
<BR>
The verb <B>to be</B> forms questions and negative statements in the same way
 in the Simple Past as in the Simple Present. In order to form a <U>question</U>,
the verb is placed before the subject. For example:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Question</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I was awake.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Was I awake?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; They were ready.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Were they ready?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>

<!--page 38-->
In order to form a <U>negative statement</U>, the word <B>not</B> is placed after
the verb. For example:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Negative Statement</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I was awake.</TD><TD>&nbsp; I was not awake.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp;They were ready.</TD><TD>&nbsp; They were not ready.</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
<A NAME="2a1wa"></A>
In spoken English, the following contractions are often used:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Without Contractions</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>With Contractions</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; was not</TD><TD>&nbsp; wasn't</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; were not</TD><TD>&nbsp; weren't</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
In order to form a <U>negative question</U>, the verb is placed before the
subject, and the word <B>not</B> is placed after the subject. However, when
contractions are used, the contracted form of <B>not</B> immediately follows
the verb. For example:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Without Contractions</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>With Contractions</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Was I not awake?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Wasn't I awake?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Were they not ready?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Weren't they ready?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
In order to form <U>tag questions</U>, the verb itself is used. In the
following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined.
Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement with Tag Question</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp;</TD><TD>&nbsp;</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I was awake.</TD><TD>&nbsp; I was awake, <U>wasn't I</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; They were ready.</TD><TD>&nbsp; They were ready, <U>weren't they</U>?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>

See <A HREF="gramex05.html#2">Exercise 2</A>.<BR>
<BR>

<A NAME="2b"></A>
<B>b. Other verbs</B><BR>
English verbs other than the verb <B>to be</B> have the same form in the
Simple Past, regardless of the subject.<BR>
<BR>
In the case of <U>regular</U> English verbs, the Simple Past has the same form
as the past participle. For example, the Simple Past of the regular
verb <B>to work</B> is conjugated as follows:<BR>
<BR>
<CENTER><TABLE>
<TR><TD>I worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>you worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>he worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>she worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>it worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>we worked</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>they worked</TD></TR>
</TABLE></CENTER>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#3">Exercise 3</A>.<BR>
<BR>

<!--page 39-->
<A NAME="2bir"></A>
In the case of <U>irregular</U> English verbs, the form of the Simple Past must
be memorized. As illustrated by the examples below, for some irregular
verbs, the Simple Past is the same as the past participle; whereas for
others, the Simple Past differs from the past participle. A table of
<A HREF="gramirr.html">140 common English irregular verbs</A> is provided. For example:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Bare Infinitive</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Simple Past</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Past Participle</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; begin</TD><TD>&nbsp; began</TD><TD>&nbsp; begun</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; find</TD><TD>&nbsp; found</TD><TD>&nbsp; found</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; go</TD><TD>&nbsp; went</TD><TD>&nbsp; gone</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; let</TD><TD>&nbsp; let</TD><TD>&nbsp; let</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; take</TD><TD>&nbsp; took</TD><TD>&nbsp; taken</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
Like the regular verbs, irregular verbs other than the verb <B>to be</B> do
not modify in the Simple Past, but have the same form, regardless of the
subject. For example, the Simple Past of the irregular verb <B>to take</B> 
is conjugated as follows:<BR>
<BR>
<CENTER><TABLE>
<TR><TD>I took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>you took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>he took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>she took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>it took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>we took</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>they took</TD></TR>
</TABLE></CENTER>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#4">Exercise 4</A>.<BR>
<BR>

<A NAME="2b1"></A>
<B>i. Questions and negative statements</B><BR>
In both the Simple Present and the
Simple Past of verbs other than the verb <B>to be</B>, questions and negative
statements are formed using the auxiliary <B>to do</B> and the bare infinitive.<BR>
<BR>
For questions and negative statements in the Simple Past, the Simple
Past of the auxiliary <B>to do</B> is used. The Simple Past of <B>to do</B> is
conjugated as follows:<BR>
<BR>
<CENTER><TABLE>
<TR><TD>I did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>you did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>he did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>she did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>it did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>we did</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>they did</TD></TR>
</TABLE></CENTER>
<BR>
In order to change an affirmative statement into a <U>question</U>, <B>did</B> is
placed before the subject, and the form of the verb is changed from the
Simple Past to the bare infinitive. In the following example, the regular
verb <B>to work</B> is used. The verb <B>to work</B> has the Simple Past <B>worked</B>,
and the bare infinitive <B>work</B>.<BR>
<BR>

<!--page 40-->
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Question</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did I work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; You worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did you work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; He worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did he work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; She worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did she work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; It worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did it work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; We worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did we work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; They worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; Did they work?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#5">Exercise 5</A>.<BR>
<BR>
In order to change an affirmative statement into a <U>negative statement</U>,
<B>did not</B> is placed after the subject, and the form of the verb is
changed to the bare infinitive. In the following example, the irregular
verb <B>to speak</B> is used. The verb <B>to speak</B> has the bare infinitive
<B>speak</B> and the Simple Past <B>spoke</B>.<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Negative Statement</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; I did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; You spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; You did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; He spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; He did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; She spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; She did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; It spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; It did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; We spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; We did not speak.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; They spoke.</TD><TD>&nbsp; They did not speak.</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#6">Exercise 6</A>.<BR>
<BR>
<A NAME="2b1di"></A>
In spoken English, the following contraction is often used:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Without Contraction</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>With Contraction</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; did not</TD><TD>&nbsp; didn't</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
In order to change an affirmative statement into a <U>negative Question</U>,
<B>did</B> is placed before the subject, <B>not</B> is placed after the subject,
and the form of the verb is changed to the bare infinitive. However,
when contractions are used, the contracted form of <B>not</B> follows
immediately after the auxiliary <B>did</B>. For example:<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Without Contractions</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>With Contractions</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did I not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't I work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did you not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't you work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did he not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't he work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did she not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't she work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did it not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't it work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did we not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't we work?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; Did they not work?</TD><TD>&nbsp; Didn't they work?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>

<!--page 41-->
<U>Tag questions</U> are formed using the auxiliary <B>did</B>. In the following
examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are
usually used in negative tag questions.<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE width="95%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<TR><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement</B></U></TD><TD><U><B>Affirmative Statement with Tag Question</B></U></TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; I worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; I worked, <U>didn't I</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; You worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; You worked, <U>didn't you</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; He worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; He worked, <U>didn't he</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; She worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; She worked, <U>didn't she</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; It worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; It worked, <U>didn't it</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; We worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; We worked, <U>didn't we</U>?</TD></TR>
<TR><TD>&nbsp; They worked.</TD><TD>&nbsp; They worked, <U>didn't they</U>?</TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#7">Exercise 7</A>.<P>
&nbsp;<BR>

<A NAME="3"></A>
<CENTER><B>3. The simple past of To Use followed by an infinitive</B></CENTER><BR>
The Simple Past of the verb <B>to use</B>, followed by an infinitive, generally
refers to something which took place repeatedly or continuously in the
past, but which no longer takes place.<BR>
<BR>
In the following examples, the Simple Past of <B>to use</B> is printed in
bold type, and the infinitives which follow it are underlined. The
Simple Past of <B>to use</B> is <B>used</B>.<BR>
e.g. The ferry used <U>to operate</U> every day.<BR>
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; We used <U>to live</U> on Duke Street.<BR>
<BR>
In the first example, the use of <B>used</B> followed by the infinitive
indicates that in the past the ferry operated every day, but now it
does not operate every day. In the second example, the use of <B>used</B> 
followed by the infinitive indicates that in the past we lived on Duke
Street, but now we do not live on Duke Street.<BR>
<BR>
See <A HREF="gramex05.html#8">Exercise 8</A>.

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